


Why Jason becomes a member of the Dark Trinity, sort of...

by Write_No_Evil



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Batman and Robin Eternal (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth, We Are Robin (Comics)
Genre: Batbrothers bonding, Gen, Jason and Damian being brothers, Jason being a big bro, Mentions of the rest of the Batfam - Freeform, Swearing, batbros, batfam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 03:40:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7601986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Write_No_Evil/pseuds/Write_No_Evil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason takes Damian to a quiet area to ask him a favour and tell him a BIG secret that is between Jason and Bruce. A secret that will, probably, tear the family apart. Again.</p><p> </p><p>"Look, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to say. This conversation stays here, got it Damian. You're going to keep this a secret, no blabbing to Goldie or Replacement or Babs or Stephie or Cass or Alf or anyone else. " Damian frowns, both at how many people this lie is going to deceive and the fact that Bruce wasn't one of the people Jason listed. The fact that he had listed Alfred- Damian could tell he loved the old man dearly and didn't want to hurt him- put him on alert.</p><p>"Bruce thinks something's aboutta go down in the crime world. Somethin' big. He doesn't, can't, have eyes on it. It's got 'im unsettled, not knowin' what is and all. Well, that's where I come in. You all know I was once a Crime Lord, still am actually. He wants me to go back to bein' that. Get into the crime underworld, find out what is it and, if possible stop it."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why Jason becomes a member of the Dark Trinity, sort of...

**Author's Note:**

> Oaky, so I may be a little late, I'm not sure when Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth came out / is coming out but I know it's been leaked... so yeah. Anyway, I thought of this waaaay before it came out so it may be incorrect with the actual comic (I haven't read it yet) but this is my thinking as to why Jason's a criminal again. Also this has swearing in it.

Damian's painting is almost finished. The young male takes a second to admire the work, the purple flower taking up most of the canvas. His hand comes up, paintbrush wet with a colour he had mixed, about to add the paint to a section of the petal when a loud knocking destroys the tranquility that had settled in the room. The young boy jumps, having been in a sort of trance. He whirls to the source of the sudden noise, sending a glare at the window. Outside the glass, Jason smiles at him, oblivious to the danger he is in. Below him, four floors down, is a patio. If he were to fall, he would die. He sends Damian a boyish grin. The younger male turns back to his painting, a tanned finger tracing the area he was about to paint to make sure he hadn't accidentally gotten paint on the canvas when he jumped at the sudden noise. His finger comes back dry and he can't keep the sigh of relief, internally thanking all his training and his steady hands.

He walks over to the window, opening it up to glare at Jason. He's annoyed at how he didn't notice the male outside his window. He pushes the thought of how good the older boy's skills must be if he managed to sneak past the Manor's security as well as Damian.

"What do you want, Todd?" He spits, letting the anger he's feeling at Jason sneaking up on him out.

"Come with me," Jason tells him. He doesn't give Damian a reason, letting go of the window edge and drops to the ridge underneath the window. He continues to jump from one part of the old house to another, grabbing onto pieces that jut out to stop him falling onto the hard concrete below. He lands safely on the ground and looks back up at Damian, lifting his arms up.

"Jump, I'll catch you." Jason doesn't believe Damian will jump, but he gives the boy the choice anyway. As he expects, Damian tuts and makes his way down, taking slightly longer than Jason as he is smaller. When the boy does land on the ground, Jason smiles at him and turns, walking to where his [motorbike ](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/85/a5/8e/85a58e44ce66bfe7601167ecf2b74673.jpg)is parked. Damian follows him.

"Can I drive?" He asks.

"Sure," Jason agrees easily. Damian turns to look at the taller male in surprise.

"You are really going to let me drive?" He asks, thinking Jason is joking. Jason shrugs.

"I know you can drive."

"Father doesn't let me drive."

"Well I ain't your father." Jason grabs the helmet and plonks it onto Damian's head, not bothering to be gentle with it. Damian scowls at him, hands reaching up to fix the helmet. Jason places his own black one on his head, flinging his right leg over the black sports motorcycle. He looks at Damian, waiting for him to get on in front of him. Damian quickly makes his way onto the bike, taking a second to run his hands over it.

"It is a good model," Damian praises.

"Thanks." Jason leans the bike to one side so he can kick up the stand. He reaches over Damian to the throttle and with his leg, kickstarts the bike.

"How am I going to switch gears?" Damian asks, knowing his legs were too small.

"I'll do it for you," Jason tells him. "Tell me which one and when." Damian nods at the idea.

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"Head north to Crime Alley. I'll give you directions then." Damian nods. Jason clicks the motorbike into first and Damian slowly drives forward. When he's sure that the bike isn't about to topple over, Jason tucks his legs onto the footpegs. Damian drives out of the Manor, gaining speed the further they get from the large building.

When they get to Crime Alley, Damian slows down, waiting for Jason's directions. Jason tells him where to go, directing him to the location. Eventually, Damian stops in a courtyard. It's overrun with weeds, the plants growing everywhere. Damian's lips curl into a sneer at the state of the area. There are three walls in different stages of ruin, running on their left and right. The wall in front of them has a rotting wooden gate that's hanging off its hinges. Next to it is a gap in the wall, large enough for someone to walk through and making the gate rather redundant. Again, Jason reaches over him to turn the bike off, manoeuvring it so he can kick the stand down and rest the bike on it. He gets off it first, pulling off his helmet with an ease that only came from repeatedly doing it, and begins to walk to the gate.

"Comin'?" He asks over his shoulder. Damian hurries off the bike, wincing as he pulls off his helmet.

"If this is a trap Todd..." Damian warns.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Jason brushes of the threat and opens the gate, paying no mind to the hole next to it. Behind the wall is a well-trodden path, snaking its way through the wild weeds. Jason wanders down it, hands in his leather jacket. Damian glares at him, not understanding why he has brought him here. His normal scowl makes a reappearance when he was to raise his hands to his shoulders to stop himself being stung by the nettles. Jason, on the other hand, looks completely at home, tall enough to be out of the way of the stinging plants.

As Jason leads him, Damian takes the time to study the man in front of him. Jason is wearing a brown leather jacket; Damian frowns as he takes what he can see of the jacket in. It doesn't look in a bad shape, so maybe Jason isn't wearing the one Damian sees when they're on patrol. It would suggest that Jason has a few of them, which makes sense, Damian has seen the male wearing a black jacket every so often. His green eyes trail down to Jason's black ripped skinny jeans. A silver chain hung from two of the belt loops. On his feet were black combat boots. Damian's eyebrows furrow as he wonders what the meaning of taking him here is. Jason wasn't really clothed for fighting. His eyes flick to the backpack on Jason's back. He squints at it but his powers have long gone and he can't see what is in the bag.

He continues to follow Jason for another five minutes. Just before he's about to ask where they are, they round a bend and he sees a picturesque view. There is a large lake in front of him, with a few birds resting on its deep blue surface. Behind the lake is a small wooded area. Damian lets his feet take him forwards as he stares at the beautiful landscape in front of him.

"Woah," he breathes. Jason smiles at him.

"Yeah, it's beautiful." Jason walks forward, heading to the only bench, in front of the lake. He puts his left hand on the top of the backrest and jumps over it. His bag falls to the seat with a loud noise as he sits down. Damian walks to the bench and perches on it. Jason pulls his bag towards him, opening it and pulls out packages of things. Damian looks a little closer and sees what they actually are. Peas, sweetcorn, wheat, rice, seeds and lettuce. Jason hands them to him.

"-tt- What are these for?" Damian asks. Jason jerks his head to the body of water.

"Wanna feed the birds?" Damian turns and looks at the animals. A second later and he hops off the bench to walk to the water edge. Jason watches him as he toes off his boots and kneels in the small sandy shore, reeds and other aquatic plants on either side of him.

The Mallard Ducks are the first to swim closer, either braver or stupider than the rest of the birds on the water. The rest of the lake birds watch with intrigue. When nothing happens to the brown ducks, the rest of them swim closer to where Damian is handing out free food. Jason watches as a cluster of swanlings swim up, their parents gracefully sliding through the water behind them. Jason heaves himself off the bench and strolls over to where Damian is, crouching next to him as the swanlings come closer to him. He reaches his hand out to the adult swans.

"Don't worry, he's with me," he tells to the swans. They look at him then turn and float a little further out. Damian turns to look at him strangely. "What?"

"They seem to... trust you."

"Yeah, I saved the male one a few years ago," he tells him. Jason sits down properly, grabbing a handful of the rice and throws it out to the parent swans. Damian leans forward and sprinkles a trail of seeds, lettuce, rice and peas from the water edge, up the shore and to where he sits. The baby birds follow the food up to him and start to climb him. Damian smiles, hands keeping them from falling off him. Jason watches him, a small smile on his lips as he sees Damian enjoying himself.

"How did you find this place?"

"I found it back when I was...- when I used to live in Crime Alley. I lived near here actually. When I... came back to Gotham.... after everythin'.... I was walking around and I stumbled back here again. I kept comin' back and one time I found the male swan-" he nods at the swan. "-trapped in some rope some dipshits dumped here. I saved him and the next day he comes back with another swan. He disappeared after a while and when he came back, he brought his kids as well."

"It is a very nice place," Damian tells him truthfully. Jason smiles down at the sand, a finger drawing lines in the fine sediment.

"Yeah... it was real peaceful back then. Still is really." Jason looks back up and snorts as he spots a brown and red bird.

"What?" Jason nods in Damian's direction. The boy turns and spots the Robin perched on a thin branch. Damian turns back to Jason.

"Here, look after them for a few seconds," he pauses then adds." Please."

Jason takes the birds, used to holding them from the times he had been to the area before. He lets them run along his lap and on the ground in the area between his crossed legs. He looks back up at Damian who's extended his hand out to the robin.

"Tch, please. It ain't gonna come to you. I would know, it hasn't done it to me once," Jason scoffs. Damian rolls his head and sends him a 'challenge accepted' sort of face then turns back to the robin. The bird jerks its head to look at the hand, black eyes spying the trail of food along Damian's arm. It hesitates for a second then leaps off the branch, taking flight and flaps over to Damian. It lands on the material of his green hoodie arm and begins to peck at the food. Damian sends a giant smirk at Jason who huffs. "Shut up, brat." He swallows the jealousy at the fact that the robin easily flew to the boy with only a little jealousy.

They sit in silence for a while, stroking the animals and feeding them food. By this time other animals have ventured closer, still mostly birds but now not just webbed birds from the lake. Damian breaks the silence.

"Thanks. For this... It was nice to get out of the Manor." Jason turns his head to the right so he can look at the boy as he speaks. "They... they keep crowding me. They hover around me, though they have stopped asking me if I'm okay but they still look at me with... with... with, I don't know. Pity, fear, sadness. It's stifling."

Jason doesn't speak, letting the boy get out his frustration.

"They... they keep asking me about it... About me dying. They do it less, but they are curious, I can tell. They want to know what it is like."

"He's wrong," Jason says. Damian looks confused at his words.

"Who is wrong? Father?" Jason turns to him.

"You know Peter Pan?"

"By James Matthew Barrie?" Jason smiles, happy that the boy wasn't a complete noob with literature.

"You seen the cartoon version if it?" Damian sneers.

"That awful, childish show?"

"Goldie showed it you?"

"Grayson showed it to me."

"Then he also made you watch the live action one as well." Jason stares out at the water, not really seeing anything. "He was wrong, Peter was. 'To die would be an awfully big adventure'. Dying wasn't an awfully big adventure."

Damian turns and looks at Jason for the first time in a while, suddenly realising that the male next to him had gone through a similar thing to he had.

"Dying ain't an adventure. Everyone asks me what it was like but... It's just..."

"... Lonely," Damian finishes. Jason pulls his gaze from the lake to grin at the pre-teen next to him.

"Look at us, havin' a heart to heart. Talking about feelings and shit. God, if the others were here," Jason shudders. Damian lets a small smile creep onto his lips, letting Jason drop the conversation. It was still too raw a subject, for both of them.

"It gets better, eventually. One day, if you're real lucky, you'll maybe only have two nightmares in one night," Jason jokes.

"Do you... still get nightmares?"

"Yeah. They'll reduce in frequency but... they'll always be so... so detailed," Jason tells him truthfully. He glances at Damian. "But you'll be fine. You have Bru- your father, Dick-face, Replacement, Babs, Stephie, Cass and good ol' Alf. They'll get you through this."

There is a pain in Jason's lower gut, a tingle in his eyes, the back of his throat tightens and his heart clenches. Jason looks at the boy and pushes back the anger and pain at knowing that Damian will go through the nightmares and the paranoia and the fear and the PTSD and everything else he went through but with his family around him and supporting him. The older male has to force himself to remember that his family didn't know he was alive when he went through it.

"How long have you been coming here?" Damian asks, noticing how at ease the swan is at eating out of Jason's hands. Other animals also seemed to trust him, not perturbed at his presence.

"Errrm," Jason pauses as he tries to remember. "I guess... about a year? Probably more."

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Well everyone knows you love animals and I know how smotherin' Daddy Bats can be so I thought sneaking yer out would be a good thing for you," a pause. "Okay fine. It was slightly because I need a favour."

"Go on," Damian prompts, intrigued as to why Jason, the Red Hood and Crime Lord, would need a favour. Jason sighs and glances around at the animals and then onto the lake. He swivels his entire body to look Damian in the eyes. Damian picks up on the shift in body language, knowing that whatever the older male was about to say was going to be important and moves so his body is facing him more.

"Look, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to say. This conversation stays here, got it Damian? You're going to keep this a secret, no blabbing to Goldie or Replacement or Babs or Stephie or Cass or Alf or anyone else. " Damian frowns, both at how many people this lie is going to deceive and the fact that Bruce wasn't one of the people Jason listed as well as how Jason's accent had suddenly disappeared. Obviously, Jason is no longer relaxed enough to let it slip into his speaking. The fact that he had listed Alfred- Damian could tell he loved the old man dearly and didn't want to hurt him- put him on alert.

"You have my word, Todd. Now, what is this big secret? And why do you need a favour?" Jason sighs and looks out to the forest. His accent slips back in as he speaks, the stress and other emotions he's feeling putting his accent in again. 

"Bruce thinks something's aboutta go down in the crime world. Somethin' big. He doesn't, _can't_ , have eyes on it. It's got 'im unsettled, not knowin' what it is and all. Well, that's where I come in. You all know I was once a Crime Lord, still am actually. He wants me to go back to bein' that. Get into the crime underworld, find out what is it and, if possible stop it, all while keeping contact with 'im."

"I... I don't understand."

"Basically, I'm gunna go back to bein' a criminal to get into Gotham's criminal underground and find whatever this _thing_ is. Which is gunna mean you lot will think I've gone back to me old ways and all that shit. I'm gunna be fightin' against yer, fer a while most likely as well."

"But-"  
  
"Which leads me onto my favour. I ... I know it's stupid ... and I know they can find food on their own, but I want to know that if somethin' bad happens, like one of 'em gettin' trapped, someone will find out about it and quickly whilst I'm gone. So Damian, will you do me a huge favour and, I dunno, check up on 'em every so often? Give 'em food, make sure they're safe and healthy. That sort of shit."

"I.... Sure," Damian agrees. "I just don't understand why you have to become a villain to find out about this thing. Can't someone else do it? Can't we place a mole in the underworld?"

"Damian, people know me, the villains know me. I've fought aginst Batman and the others. They're more likely to trust the Red Hood than some random guy we push into this mess. And I have more experience and the ability to defend myself. But I've also worked with you lot and I never really worked with any of them villains. It'll take quite a while for them lot to trust me.

"As for why me? It's simple," he shrugs a shoulder. "All of you lot have a life. You have friends and family and a life and jobs outside of all this crime fighting. People will miss you lot if you just disappear suddenly. Me though? I don't think anyone will notice 'till they're fightin' me as a villain. You all have somethin' to lose. I don't."

"But we have just started being a family again. You are working with us again, being brothers with Grayson and Drake and I. Grayson and the others, they will be disappointed and betrayed. You have come so far, why would you throw away all that progress?"

"It ain't the first time I've disappointed them or let 'em down. They'll get over it I'm sure."

"Surely there is another way-"

"Damian, there is no other way. Will you just look after these animals?" Damian looks at the animals, the anger he's feeling creating a half-pout half-scowl on his lips as he tries to think of another way. "Damian?"

"Yes. I will look after them, Todd." He glares at the ground. "Surely there is another way."

"You can try and think up somethin' but not even the World's Greatest Detective could think of anythin'."

"When do you leave.. to...to.."

"To become a villain? The family's disappointment? Again."

"Todd!"

"I'm sorry. I head out tonight but will be puttin' the plan into motion tomorrow."

"Wait, what?!" Damian looks at him in surprise, not even trying to mask it. "But, why would you spend your last night with me?" Jason smiles fondly at him, taking Damian's shock as an opportunity to ruffle his hair.

"Yer not that bad, Demon brat," he stretched his legs out, the animals exploring the new appendages and leans back, arms behind him to support his weight. His accent becoming a lot stronger is the only indication of all the emotions swirling inside of him."Just remember, Replacement is probably runnin' on very little sleep and needs his coffee before he can function so don't bother 'im too much. Goldie loves yer no matter what yer do and he'll always have time for yer. He'll love it if you pop by his apartment in Bludhaven. Alfred puts up with all our shit, he deserves a medal. Don't throw a temper tantrum at him, help him with the house- it's a bloody manor he has to clean, like every single day. He's old, man, you gotta help him. Clean up after yerself, make yerself breakfast or somethin'. Things like that. Stephie is still new to the whole Batgirl thing, well not really but compared to the rest of us she has the least amount of experience, so go easy on her. Don't insult her. Oh, you'll never be able to beat Cass, so don't even bother tryin'. Babs, unlike Alfie, won't put up with yer bullshit, or yer manpain. Don't look at her with pity, or think of her as anythin' other than strong- that's not even me stickin' up fer her- she will beat yer arse if she finds out. And lastly, Bruce is doin' everythin' to protect yer and shit. If he pulls yer from patrol, it's cuz he cares about yer. He doesn't want you hurt or dead, not again. He wants the best fer yer. Tell him yer love him or somethin' like that. He has a stressful job, make his life a lil' easier. Also, he's shit at speaking his emotions, but he does love yer. From the bottom of his heart."

"Jason-"

"Don't try and persuade me not to Damian, I've made me mind up."

"I wasn't going to... I was wondering if you would give me your number, or whatever you're going to use to contact Father. You... know what it's like... You are the only one I can talk to you."

"Alright, I'll find a way ter contact yer too. Though yer can't tell Bruce about that, he doesn't know I've told yer." Damian smiles sadly at the ground.

"How long... will you be...gone?"

"I dunno."

They lapse into another silence as the sun sets, allowing the stars to begin to be seen. After a while, they get up and pack everything away, walking back to the motorcycle. Damian slips onto the bike behind Jason, wrapping his arms around his waist and burrowing his face into the brown leather jacket. He lets Jason take him home, Jason zig-zagging from one lane to another effortlessly. He only stops when he is under Damian's window. The boy hops off the bike. He looks at Jason, taking his helmet off and offering it to Jason. Jason pulls his helmet off to look at the boy face to face.

"I won't let them talk bad things about you, Todd."

"You'll have to Dami. If you ain't actin' like the rest of 'em it'll be suspicious." Jason smiles the boy in reassurance. "Don't worry I'm used to it. I'll be fine." Damian looks like he wants to say something else but the light to his room suddenly turns on. They both look up at it as they hear someone call his name. "Looks like yer hafta go now." Damian nods.

"See you later, Jason." Damian turns and expertly scales up the wall. Jason waits until he hears the boy greet his father and the lights turn out, signalling them leaving the room, before he puts his helmet back on and points the bike in the direction of the gates to the Manor. He speeds off into the night, knowing it would be the last time he would see the Manor for a long time. And oddly, he's okay with that. If he can protect the few people he loves, he'll gladly do anything.


End file.
